About Carole
Dr. Carole Matlen is a California clinical psychologist with three decades of experience. She brings a long career in clinical settings plus a background in teaching and ministry to her work.
She focuses on helping people who struggle with stress and anxiety as well as relationship and trauma-related concerns. Her approach is practical and straightforward. She pays attention to strengths and helps people build self-confidence.
Sessions often focus on what is happening now and on small changes that add up over time.
Background and approach
Dr. Matlen uses a mix of methods to match each person's needs. That can include cognitive behavioral ideas for shifting unhelpful thoughts and behaviors, client-centered listening that lets people set the pace, and attachment-oriented work that looks at how close relationships affect current feelings.
She also draws on emotionally-focused and acceptance-based ideas when those fit. She has worked with a wide range of concerns including eating and body-image issues, addiction, grief, parenting stress, anger, low self-esteem, career questions, and coping with life changes. The list also includes adoption and foster care concerns, family of origin issues, and communication or commitment problems.
Sessions are offered in English and are arranged from California. Dr. Matlen emphasizes collaboration - she and the client plan goals and steps together.
People who want practical, compassionate help for anxiety or related concerns may find her straightforward style a good match.
Approaches you can use in online therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice difficult thoughts and feelings without getting stuck in them, then commit to actions that match their values. It is useful for anxiety, stress, and life changes. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at patterns in close relationships and how those patterns shape emotional reactions and trust. It can help with intimacy problems, separation worries, and family of origin difficulties.Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with the person to choose methods that match their goals and preferences. That means trying techniques, checking what helps, and adjusting the plan together over time.
Online sessions are offered by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make care more flexible. Video is helpful for longer, interactive work and seeing nonverbal cues. Phone sessions can fit a tight schedule or require less bandwidth. Live chat and text messaging allow short check-ins, ongoing support between sessions, or a way to work without being on camera. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy life while using approaches that address anxiety, relationships, and trauma.
Questions people ask
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What this therapist works with
Most often
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Trauma and abuse
Also listed
- Abandonment
- Addictions
- Adoption and foster care
- Anger management
- Attachment issues
- Bipolar disorder
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Career difficulties
- Coaching
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Compassion fatigue
- Control issues
- Coping with life changes
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Depression
- Divorce and separation
- Eating and food-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Emptiness
- Family conflicts
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Forgiveness
- Grief
- Guilt and shame
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intimacy-related issues
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Midlife crisis
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Parenting issues
- Post-traumatic stress
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Self esteem
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Therapeutic approaches
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Existential Therapy
- Jungian Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Experience
- 30 years
- Licensed
- California
- Languages
- English
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